Hesitation
by Shatterr
Summary: Jaime wants to move forward in his relationship with Bart, but the speedster seems to be holding back, and the more he tries to discover why, the more he becomes what he never wanted to be.
1. Welcome to El Paso

"Who are _you_?"

"Milagro, leave us alone..." Jaime whimpered, trying to push Bart up the stairs to his bedroom before his sister asked too many questions that he would be more than willing to answer.

"Aw, but she's so _cute_, Jaime, why do we have to leave her?"

"I'm not _cute_!" she stuck her tongue out as the smaller teen was dragged away.

"You don't want to mess with her. She can get...well, anyway, this is my room." He opened the door to his bedroom. It really wasn't much and he hoped Bart wouldn't mind and-

Of course he didn't mind. He had already zoomed around it three times, now lounging on his bed, disturbing the just-straightened covers, holding a bag of Chicken Whizees that Jaime knew he didn't come with in hand.

"I can see you're already helping yourself." Jaime grumbled, getting next to him on the bed, sitting crosslegged. "Mami doesn't know your secret, nor does she know mine, so you really have to be more careful, hermano. It's enough to have to listen to the scarab whine and moan about it, let alone having to worry about it myself."

"Yeah, yeah, enough with the lectures, _hermano_," he threw the bag aside and crawled on top of him, "let's do what I _really_ came here for."

**Destroy this Impulse!**

"No..." whimpered the older teen, clearing his throat and letting the hand that _wasn't_ getting turned into a canon tangle into Bart's auburn hair.

"No?" Bart frowned.

"Sorry, I was talking...never mind, but anyway, I-"

The smaller boy kissed him, their tongues meeting roughly in between mouths, wrestling for power. Jaime let out a surprised moan of pleasure, while pushing Bart down on his back and crawling on top of him. He wanted control for now...at least to shut Khaji-Da up.

**Would you like me to take necessary precautions so that position can not be changed in his favor?**

Jaime thought about that for awhile, wondering what it would entail. Sadly, that was something you should never do when you're fighting with a speedster, for the couple seconds it took to think something through was all Bart needed to get back on top, straddling his waist and pushing his gray hoodie up to his chest, vibrating hands roaming the tan, toned upper half.

Submitting to the defeat (for _now_), he let the teen's stray hands wander all over his top-half once more, their tongues continuing in their battle for dominance. All that could be heard in the room were hot, wet noises and then the zipper of Jaime's hoodie being undone.

**What are you doing?!**

Jaime ignored Khaji-Da, focusing his attention on the beautiful face in front of him, his hands, now completely canon-free, grabbed Bart's butt through his skinny jeans, making the boy whimper and break away from the kiss. Jaime grinned at him.

"It feels a little, uh, _awkward_, to know we have an audience."

"I'm used to it."

Bart sat back up, still straddling his hips. "What does he think of me?"

"He disapproves, but why does that _matter_?" His tan hands pushed up the baseball tee, relishing the beauty of his skin color against the pale speedster's, their body temperature also very different. Bart was so _warm_...

"Jaime..." Suddenly Bart went very serious and it made him stop smiling and get worried, his chest tightening in anxiety.

**These feelings are completely unnecessary. Cease this at once.**

"I came here to change the future...to stop things that happened from happening. To stop _you_..."

_Ay dios mio..._this wasn't sounding good at all. He had to say something, even though his mouth had suddenly gone dry and his hands were starting to tremble, "Bart, I...I know I probably made...you know, some mistakes in the future, but I...I know that right now I would never...especially because now I met _you_ and..."

"Shoosh!" Bart put his hand over Jaime's mouth, a small smile on his lips. "Just _listen_, okay?"

**Suffocation is not a tactic commonly used among 'friends'. Destroy this Impulse at _once_!**

But as soon as he moved his hand away, he had to continue. He was too scared of what Bart might say. "Please, Bart. I'm sorry! I know I enslaved you and did you wrong and was horrible but I..."

"Jaime..." He slid off his hips and let him sit up, and their hands met and their fingers tangled with one another's, "...I just never would have thought I'd fall in _love_ with you."

His chest loosened, anxiety pouring out of him. He let out a sigh of relief. "Bart...heh...sorry...I thought..." he mumbled, closing his eyes.

"It's okay." He leaned forward, whispering those words into his ear. Jaime caught the scent of his shampoo and clung to his head while he still had him there, and just listened to their breathing until Impulse pulled away, zooming around the room and returning back to sitting crosslegged in front of him on the bed with the Chicken Whizees in one hand and Jaime's wallet in the other. His voice was loud again, cheerful, happy, like nothing intense had just gone on, "You have to show me around El Paso today."

Jaime sighed. What happened to making out that eventually led to more? Perhaps Bart wasn't ready. But if that was the case, he was okay with that. He was okay with whatever Bart wanted. Because Bart was going to be the one calling the shots in this relationship: not Jaime. Because he wasn't a dictator and he _wasn't_ going to grow up to be one..."El Paso is...not that great."

"Mmphey, beffmer thaphn...where I come from!" He swallowed and the older teen couldn't help but smile.

**This is a complete waste of time and energy.**

Jaime rolled his eyes, not sure how much longer he could stand Khaji-Da's bickering. He slipped off his hoodie and looked straight into the speedster's eyes. "How about we continue where we left off, first?" Maybe just a little push and he'd take the bait...

He raised an eyebrow, then shrugged. "I guess I sort of liked you touching my butt." Bait taken. Jaime grabbed his butt again, smirking.

"Good, 'cos I liked it, too."

"But...no, like...taking off our_ clothes_ or anything. Okay?"

Jaime bit his lip in question, wondering why...was he not muscular enough for Bart? Was he too muscular? Was he too tall? Did the scarab scare him _that_ much? Or were they just moving too fast?

Wait, _what_? Too fast for a _speedster_?

**Detected stress and anxiety while speaking of this activity you are presenting: _psychological trauma_.**

"Hmm...Bart, come on, just a little?" his hands moved from his bum to his fly, starting to unbutton the button. Bart ran to the other side of the room, holding his hands up, his brow furrowed. Psychological trauma, huh...?

"I just don't want to do that stuff with you, _okay_?!"

"JAIME! _CENAR_!" His mother called from down the stairs.

He bit his lip, pushing himself off the bed and lookied at Bart, moving much slower than usual, his head drooped and lips pursed as he stumbled toward the door, and Jaime couldn't even explain these _feelings_ (sadness, lust, anger?) that were pulsating through his entire being.


	2. Scenic Drive

Dinner with the family was awkward. Beyond awkward. _Painful_, almost.

But Bart, being the beautiful _optimist_ that he was, found away to make it all better. He replied politely to all questions asked, though there weren't many, in fact, most were posed by a nosy Milagro, and even offered to clean up the dishes and wash them. Jaime gave him a look, making sure that he knew he _couldn't_ use superspeed. He'd have to actually do it by hand like a _normal_ human...

He just smiled and picked up each plate, maybe a little faster than usual, yes, but not really recognizable.

"What a nice niño, Jaime. Very _different_ than the usuals around here, si? Has Paco met him?"

"No, he...he hasn't." Jaime frowned and looked up at Bart, who had stopped washing the dishes, pausing to stare blankly at the wall in front of him.

Oh, _Dios mío_, Bart, it was nothing to worry about...there was no competition. How could there _ever_ be?

**Your mother is right, Jaime Reyes. He is not like the others.**

Jaime scoffed at the scarab's sarcasm and got up, joining Bart at the sink. "You really don't have to be doing these by yourself, hermano." He reached to take one, but his hand lingered on the lightly freckled, pale one and then Bart looked up at him with sparkling eyes. He just smiled and took the plate, pulling away and starting to wash it.

"He's _white_! There are _no_ white boys around here, Mami!" Milagro piped up, getting up to dance around the two boys washing the dishes.

"_Milagro_!" Jaime moaned, embarrassed. This wasn't getting any better...

The speedster laughed, kneeling down to her height. "Yeah, I'm white, but that doesn't mean I'm weak!"

"Does in _my _book." she smirked, and though her words were harsh, she had her hands behind her back, twirling from side to side, her pigtails flying as she did, the most innocent look on her face.

"Oh really now? I bet I can prove you wrong. I'm _super _crash. I bet I can beat you in a race."

"Course you can! You're way taller than me," she pouted, "that would be dirty!"

"Ain't that a good thing? _Dirty _fighting?"

"I _suppose_..." The little girl frowned, thinking it over then returning to her mother's side.

Bart returned to the dishes. "She's so cute," he said to Jaime, smiling down at the plate, wiping it cleaner than probably was necessary, looking at his reflection in it.

"Yeah, try _living_ with her."

* * *

"So about that tour..."

"It's nine o'clock. I _don't_ think you want to go walking around _El Paso _at nine o'clock."

"Why not?" Bart frowned, running laps around his bedroom. It was tough being pent up in this house, pretending to be 'normal'...aka, _retro_.

Jaime sighed. "_Really_. You _don't _understand. I don't exactly live in the _safest_ place."

"I'd protect you," he said sincerely, stopping and looking at Jaime, who was blushing.

** We do not need protection, stupid Impulse. Kill him. This taunting must not be tolerated.**

But there was something about Bart not caring, something about him not being annoyed by Milagro, or even that he had a scarab infused into his spine. It was something that got Jaime's heart fluttering like nothing ever had before, that got his brain churning with thought and his stomach tight with nerves and something else a little lower...

Why didn't Bart want to go farther?

"Hmm. _Well._" Jaime threw the empty bag of Chicken Whizees in the trash can and lounged onto the bed, stretching and spreading out. Bart joined him and listened, "We can do it tomorrow. It'll be nicer in the _morning _anyway. Bart? Can I ask you something?"

"Course_, ese,_" he chuckled.

His feelings were going crazy. These _damn_ feelings...now all he could think about was when Bart got angry with him when he tried to touch him. he wanted to know why, _needed _to know why...

But he lied. "What did you think I'd be like?"

"Mean, tyrannical, and just overall a _terrible_ person."

Jaime looked at him.

Bart laughed at the horrified expression. "I'm just _kidding_!" But the mood had already been killed. Jaime felt horrible. He stared at his feet silently. "Come on, let's go somewhere."

"Fine...there is _one_ place we can go." he said nervously.

* * *

"Are you sure we should be on the road?"

"It's fine."

They entered a parking lot and Bart struggled not to speed ahead, waiting for Jaime to kick up his skateboard and prop it up against the cement wall. He looked over the edge. "Whoa..."

"This is Scenic Drive, _amorcito_."

The sky was black, but the city was completely lit up...row after row of colorful lights lined their vision. It was quiet, but there was such a faint sound of pure city: cars, horns, people talking, music playing in some bar...

It was like nothing Bart had ever seen.

And it was beautiful.

Jaime's arm hesitantly tangled around Bart's waist, holding him close. The younger boy smiled, resting his head on Jaime's shoulder as he looked out, admiring the sight. It took him awhile to regain speech.

"What does 'amorcito' mean?"

"Sweetheart." Jaime mumbled, his face going hot red, and he was glad Bart probably couldn't see it well in the poor lighting.

He looked up at him, his eyes still wide from amazement. Jaime looked back, clutching tighter on to his waist, and using his other hand to hold his cheek. He leaned down, and kissed him gently. Bart wrapped his arms around his neck, standing on his tippy-toes and kissed back, exploring the hot, wet cavern.

After awhile, he pulled away, only to look more out at the cityscape. "It's so..."

"Breathtaking, huh? I've always wanted someone special to see it with."

Bart nodded, wrapping his own arm around Jaime's waist as the older teen's moved to his shoulders, their bodies pressed tightly together.

"Where I'm from...it's just not like this."

Jaime had so many questions. _Too_ many questions. But he was too scared to ask. He'd just let him keep talking, for now...

"So busy, lively...fun. In fact, I had never even seen a blue sky until I came here. I used to live in the fog, in the darkness...but this...here, even when it's dark, the city lights itself up. It's never dark...never completely dark. Always _hopeful_."

This was so poetic...he never had any idea Bart could be so romantic.

**Jaime Reyes: you should be getting sleep right now. Not engaging in such activities. Your body needs rest. **

He couldn't respond to the scarab now. Why would he? It didn't even matter now. Nothing mattered: being a superhero, the team, even going to school..._nothing_ mattered but Bart.

"Ba-Bartholomew..."

He giggled a little at his full name, smiling up at Jaime, looking so sweet and innocent: yet his eyes were mature, having lost their twinkle, their spark, _something_...

"You're amazing." Jaime choked, leaning down to kiss him once more, hands struggling to keep off the slim, oh-so-_touchable_ body in front of him. But Bart _initiated_, kneading Jaime's butt through his jeans, making the teen grin against his kiss. The anxiety in his chest slowly subsided as he began to feel much more at ease.

* * *

"I'm going to pick you up." whispered Jaime, into his ear.

"Why are you whispering, dude? We're _outside_, no one can hear."

"The walls of my house are weak." he muttered, his armor covering his whole body as he stretched out his wings, picking Bart up, flying up to his room. "Get the door open."

"I think you mean window." Bart unlatched the window and Blue Beetle flew him in, dropping him down on his bed, armor disappearing off his body.

"We can't be loud. My sister can hear well through this wall. Her bedroom is on the other side."

"Hmmmm..." Bart whizzed around the room once or twice, frowning and scratching his head. "No food in here, huh?"

"Nope. And don't even think about..." He was suddenly holding a candy bar. "...going downstairs."

"I'm quicker than you think." he grinned, wiping the chocolate off his lips as he sat back down on the bed, looking at Jaime, who turned on his lamp. Bart tugged on his shirt, curling up with him on the bed, tossing the rest of the bar aside. His lips met his and Jaime, surprised but happy, returned the favor.

Kiss after short kiss, and their hands started to roam each other's bodies. _Finally_, Jaime thought...

**Sleep, Jaime Reyes.**

"No..." he mumbled, kissing Bart harder, trying to hold him in place but the speedster wanted to keep moving. When his hand met his crotch, that's when he bucked away, whimpering slightly. Jaime crawled on top of him, his hand gently rubbing Bart's stomach through his shirt, eventually snaking down it, feeling his toned abs, trying his best to keep this PG. Or, at least, PG-13...

Bart let out a quiet whimper and continued to enjoy the onslaught on his mouth, rubbing under Jaime's hoodie in return, letting his fingers linger over the hard, plastic-feeling components installed on his spine.

** Why is he touching me?**

They stayed there for a long time, circling them and feeling them gently buzz and vibrate in response.

**Tell him to stop touching me.**

_It doesn't matter why, what matters is that he's actually letting me do this..._

**What if his motives are not as they seem?**

_What could they possibly be then?!_

The scarab might have responded, he might not have. Jaime didn't know. And he frankly didn't care. Bart was kissing him and touching him and he had never felt more happier.

He wanted to ask about before. He wanted to ask why Bart was so hesitant.

Psychological trauma, Khaji-Da had said...

_Psychological trauma_...

"Jaime?"

He shook his head stupidly and his eyes focused in on the speedster. "Qué?"

"Don't ever change from _this_. The way you are now."

He smiled. "I won't."

_But you do, _echoed through Jaime's mind, and he wasn't sure if it was Bart, the scarab, or himself that reminded him of that horrible fact. _No, I can't, and I won't,_ he thought, determined.

"Crash." Bart mumbled, crawling off him. "Do you have any pajamas then?"

"Uhh, yeah, bottom drawer...I don't think they'll fit you though."

"Doesn't matter." He said, opening the drawer and pulling out a t-shirt.

Wait, he was changing? Right here, in front of him? The teen sat up, body instinctively eager to see this event...

Bart pulled off his baseball tee, stretching and yawning as he did, wriggling out of his jeans while he was at it. Like it was a _simple_ thing. He was wearing red and yellow briefs. _Briefs_. And they were _so_ cute.

"Well, don't _you_ put on pajamas?"

"Uhh, right, right!" He stood up, quickly undoing his belt and stepping out of his jeans, kicking them and his shirt to the side of the room, left in his grey boxers. Getting back into bed, he watched as Bart chose a red t-shirt and put it on, crawling sensually, _too _sensually, on the bed.

"G'night." He said, flicking out the lamp and getting under the covers, clinging to Jaime's torso and nuzzling his head into his arm.

_But you do._

* * *

_**A/N:** There are approximately 530,000 Hispanics in El Paso, with about 92,000 Caucasians. Milagro has reason to take notice of Bart, and she's sort of got a little crush on him because of it, but of course, she'd never admit to that._


	3. Cielo Vista

It was the first night that he'd ever slept with Bart. Needless to say, it was a restless one. In fact, Jaime was much more tired than he was twelve hours ago, and the scarab wouldn't shut up about it. But when he wasn't worried about Bart, he worried about himself. His actions only caused him to think himself into corner after corner, trying to come up-_desperately_-with answers.

Bart had nightmares. Horrible ones, it seemed. All he did was toss and turn, back and forth, the entire night. He had woken up in a cold sweat, and made little whimpering noises, and even vibrated right through the bed around three A.M. The first time, Jaime had asked him if he was okay, when he woke up with a gasp, shivering and clutching on to Jaime. The second time, the third time, the fourth, and so on, Jaime pretended to be asleep. He didn't want to make Bart any more embarrassed than he already was. But that didn't mean he wasn't paying attention, and he listened to the speedster's every hitched breath, every quiet mewl.

Normally those sounds would have been arousing. _Normally._

But the thought that _he_ was the one causing Bart nightmares made it one of the biggest_ turn-offs _Jaime could imagine.

So come morning, Jaime was exhausted, and hadn't gotten more than an hour or so of sleep. For what seemed like the hundredth time that night, the younger boy woke up pale and gasping, sitting up quickly and looking down at Jaime. Since the light was pouring in from his window, his open eyes were a giveaway.

"Oh, uh...hey." Bart forced a smile, scratching the back of his neck. "Did'ja sleep good?"

"I guess," Jaime lied, rubbing his tired eyes, "You?"

** You were very foolish, Jaime Reyes. All for this boy.**

"Yeah, 'course." Bart was lying, too. But Jaime didn't want to call him out. Definitely not.

He scooted his butt up on to where his head was and sat with his knees to his face, looking around the room. "It smells like pancakes."

"Mami _always_ makes pancakes on Sundays," Jaime smiled, doing the same, sitting next to Bart, putting his arm around him. He couldn't help but feel the little flinch Bart gave.

"Hmmm..does she make _a lot_?"

"Hopefully." Jaime looked out his open window at the sun shining through. Bart was looking at Jaime's desk. Soon, he looked away and followed Bart's eyes, focusing in on the light blue box sitting in the middle of it.

"What's that?" he asked, like he had read his mind.

"Oh, uh..._nada_." Jaime pushed himself off the bed and went over to it, picking it up. "It's just, um...something I got for you awhile ago. I don't think you'll like it, though, so..."

Bart was by his side in less than a second, looking up at him. "Pleeeease? Can I have it?"

"No, I don't...I don't think you'd like it," he mumbled, tossing it back on the desk, his cheeks going red.

"Of course I'd like it!" Bart snatched it, opening it up, smile falling into an 'o' as he stared down at a brown cord with a little lightning bolt on the end. He pulled it out of the box and held it up, staring at the necklace with wide eyes.

"It's...it's just something I made in Ceramics class." His face was totally _burning_ now as he idly kicked his foot back and forth. He took the opportunity to grab some jeans and a hoodie to put on, so his back could be to him.

"I..its...it's really nice."

"I thought, like...it would...suit you and all but like...it was just something dumb. I dunno."

"No, I really like it!" He put it around his neck, picking up the charm on the end and examining it.

Jaime buttoned up his jeans and looked at Bart, smiling shyly.

"Y'know, I...I should like, go get some new clothes so it looks like I went home...I'll be back. In like, five minutes?" But before Jaime could question that time limit, Bart was out the window. He rubbed his face, flopping down on his bed, staring at his fan on the ceiling.

**Jaime Reyes. You have not gotten any sleep because of this Impulse. **

"Get over it. Tell me about this psychological trauma."

**You have been thinking about this all night. However, I do not know. We would have to interrogate by force.**

"I don't want to...I want him to...you know, like..." he sighed heavily, sitting up again, "...tell me on his own, I guess."

**Your feelings are-**

"_Unnecessary_. I _know_. You've told me a _million_ times."

**Incorrect: actual number is-**

"I don't care."

* * *

"Don't you ever get _annoyed_ walking at my speed?"

"Nah." Bart trudged along next to Jaime, examining the little polymer lightning bolt. "I'm used to it."

"What do you mean?"

"Had an inhibitor collar on most my life," he said, casually, like it was nothing. But Jaime's mouth went dry and he almost stumbled a little, hearing the scarab scold him in the back of his head for it.

Inhibitor collars like they used at _Belle Reve_? Bart was a prisoner?

_My prisoner?_

_ "_Don't worry about it." There was a hand clutching on to his and when he looked down, he saw Bart's green eyes gazing up at him. He needed that reassurance, but at the same time, it made him feel even more _guilty_. "So how far is this Hasta la Vista or whatever?"

"It's _Cielo Vista_...and it's about another two blocks."

"I need some new clothes. Didn't come with many, didn't _have _many, and not to be mean or anything, but Mr. Garrick doesn't have the _best _sense of fashion. And Wally doesn't really want anything to do with me."

"Neither do I..."

"Trust me. I'm _sure_ yours is better."

"I like the way you dress," mumbled Jaime, putting his hands in his back pockets as he looked up at the sky. "It's cute."

Bart just smiled and kept walking, watching their feet: his dirty converse, Jaime's skater shoes. After awhile, he said, "It's nice that we have a break from missions."

Jaime pursed his lips, thinking back to the conversation with Nightwing:

_"Take the week off. You deserve it, Blue." Dick put his hand on Jaime's shoulder, looking at him much like an older brother that he didn't have._

_ "But the Reach, and the scarab-"_

_ "Don't worry. Spend some time with Bart, okay? I think he'd like that." He smiled, knowingly looking over to where the Bart was impatiently shifting weight from foot to foot. He had some sort of sense of knowledge about speedsters: he always seemed to know their personalities, their weaknesses, their strengths...he sort of wanted to ask him about them. But he had too much pride. "Don't tell him that, though." he added._

_ Blue Beetle nodded, thanked him quietly, then went over to Bart, who instantly attached his arm around his shoulder and walked him to the locker rooms._

Was it that obvious that they were together?

"Jaime?"

Dios mio, how long had he been out of it? "Sorry, hermano...I was just thinking."

**Two minutes and thirty four seconds.**

_I didn't need an answer!_

"About me, I hope."

"Yeah." Jaime smiled apprehensively, pulling the entrance doors to the Cielo Vista mall open for Bart, who held the next door open for Jaime.

"Really, there's no need..."

"It's all crash!" Bart chimed, clinging on to Jaime's hand again, and letting him show him around.

The first store he led him to was Zumiez. "This is my favorite store."

Bart zoomed (_almost_ too fast) over to the baseball tees, already finding ones that appealed to him. Looking around, Jaime gravitated towards the scarves. Finding a red one that he thought would suit Bart incredibly well (not to mention would be totally _hot _on him), he giggled, reaching over to wrap the scarf around Bart's neck, but he was already looking at some dress shirts ten feet away. Still smiling, finding this endearing, Jaime followed him, coming up behind him and circling his neck with the fabric and the speedster had dodged (or maybe vibrated? It had been too fast to tell) the garment once more.

"Jaime, I'm _serious_! I don't want that on me!" His face actually filled with what looked like anguish and fear. His smile fell, looking down at the scarf as he let the younger boy explore the rest of the store. He felt stupid and obnoxious, and a little confused.

**Voice analysis provides the following conclusion: psychological trauma.**

_Not _crash at all. He scowled, clenching his fists together and glaring at the floor, not only in response to Khaji-Da, but his own insensitivity. But how on _Earth_ was he supposed to know these problems Bart freaked out over if he never _told_ him about them?

"I just...don't like when you put things around my neck, okay?" he replied, when he saw how distressed his boyfriend was getting, as he rummaged through the clothing racks.

"Why?" Jaime asked. He didn't care if it was rude, he just wanted answers; this was starting to get frustrating.

"Because," he replied, hastily. And that was enough to make Jaime back off. For now.

Three stores, two dressing rooms, and three hundred dollars later, Bart was complaining about being hungry. Understandable: he hadn't ate for three_ hours_, which was quite a long time for a speedster to last. At the same time, it made Jaime a little _happy_ inside to know that spending time with him took his mind off things like that. He just hoped it was for _good _reasons...

"Fine, the food court's down that way." Jaime pointed as much as he could with five shopping bags in his hands.

"Food court?"

"Please tell me you know what that is!"

"Nope, but I'm gonna find out!"

"Bar-" He was gone. "Dios mio..."

Bart was found five minutes later sitting at a table in the middle of the food court with some chicken whizees, french fries, a chili dog, some teriyaki skewer thing, and a paper carton filled with nachos.

"What were you _thinking_?!"

"I was thinking that I was pretty hungry, and that I needed some food!" he replied with such a big smile, it was hard to stay mad at him for very long.

"You could have gotten _caught_!"

"It's all crash."

"_Don't do that again_!"

His smile fell and he looked at him with sort of scared eyes and Jaime instantly felt the pang of guilt strike him.

"Sorry," Bart admitted.

"No, I...really, it's fine. I didn't mean to snap at you, I was just worried." Explaining could help the situation. But the damage pretty much already had been done. _Dammit_...Jaime put the shopping bags down and sighed, running a hand through his short, black hair, looking down at the nachos. "This is all junk food."

"And?"

"It's not good for you, ese!"

"Don't worry about me, BB, my metabolism's great, trust me!"

* * *

"Did you boys have fun?"

"Si, Mami."

"I've got dinner in the oven."

"Great."

"I'm gonna call Mr. Garrick...uh, excuse me!" Bart moved quickly up the stairs and to Jaime's room, taking out his cell phone, bags balancing on his forearm.

Jaime sat down at the table and watched Milagro dance around it. Once she caught his eye and knew she had his attention, she started singing loudly for both Jaime and his mother to hear: "Jaime's got a boyfriend~Jaime's got a boyfriend!"

"Milagro!" he scowled, holding back the urge to lunge at her and put her in a headlock. Which is what he wanted to do most of the time.

**She knows too much.**

His mother paused instantly and turned to him. "Boyfriend?"

_You're telling me, _he thought. Bart came back down the stairs and in to the dining area.

"Novio? Tienes un novio, Jaime? Este chico es tu novio?"

"_Mami_!" he whined, finding the whole talking-in-Spanish-so-the-white-boy-won't-understand thing really annoying.

"Jaime tiene novio!" chanted Milagro, now dancing around Bart in circles, who looked quite confused. Jaime didn't blame him. "Los vi durmiendo juntos!"

"Que?!"

"Milagro, _detener_!" Jaime got up and pulled her to him, glaring down at her. "_Stop_."

"Jaime...is this true?"

"Is what true?" Bart piped in.

"N-no!" he said, hastily, trying to create a story in his mind, "She's just lying to get you mad. Don't listen to her."

"I am not lying! I _saw_ it!" she stomped her foot, glaring right back up at her big brother.

"_Mocosa,_" Jaime snapped, grabbing Bart's wrist and leading him back up to his room.

"What was that all about?"

"Please ignore her. She is just trying to cause trouble, as usual. She told my mom she saw us sleeping together. Which I don't know how she-"

"Are you mad?"

Jaime looked at him, once he closed his bedroom door. "Of course not. Why would I be?"

"Just wondering..." Bart muttered, fumbling with the polymer necklace, looking down at it.

Having withheld all day long, he couldn't stand waiting any longer. He pushed Bart down on the bed and kissed him, his dark hand roaming across the small chest in front of him hungrily. Bart gave a whimper of surprise, but let Jaime kiss, returning the favor with his hand on his butt, rubbing gently, honestly liking the feeling. Their lips crashed together over and over and soon their tongues met, dancing and battling with each other in the Bart's mouth. Jaime groaned quietly, leaning back and sitting on his bum, pulling him closer, his hand moving up the small back, up the scarab-less spine (it felt so nice), to his neck, where he-

"Stop," Bart pulled away, "don't be so rough."

_Right, Jaime. Soft hands. Not strong hands. Not powerful hands. Not tyrannical-_

**You are spending too much time analyzing words when I could do it for you.**

"Then _what_?" he whispered half to the scarab, half to Bart, running his fingers down his chest through his dark gray v-neck, wanting to touch under it badly. They moved down to his belly, and then back up to the top. He swallowed hard as he felt the hardening nipples underneath the fabric, suddenly pulling away as he felt extremely pervasive.

"...I like it better when you're gentle."

**The Impulse feels fear: increased heart rate.**

"Bart..." he said hesitantly, looking shyly into his green eyes, his hands awkwardly fluttering around his thigh, getting all dumb and sweaty like they always did, "...you don't have to be scared of me."

"I'm _not,_" the speedster replied assertively, leaning forward and kissing Jaime, holding his hands reassuringly.

But it wasn't enough reassurance for Jaime. He was scared. He feared every second that Bart would end this relationship. It was too much of a threat. He _had_ to defend himself. "Bart, no matter _what_, I _swear_, I don't know _how _or _why_ I would _ever_ do what you say I do!"

And even though Bart hadn't brought any of this up, they both knew it was there, in the back of both of their heads. It was _always_ there

"The thing is, Jaime..."

_No. No, no, please. It hurts. It honestly hurts. _Jaime's chest was so tight, it felt like it would pop. Like his heart would just _give out_. Like everything inside him that was alive was _dying_. He couldn't hear it, he couldn't hear what Bart was going to say. It hurt too much. It was too _scary_. "_Stop_!"

Bart looked up at him, his eyebrows furrowing when he saw tears in the older boy's brown eyes. He frowned, hesitantly linking his pale fingers with the sweaty, tan ones. Jaime took a deep breath, trying to calm himself, but it ended up sounding strangled, and in the end, he just choked and the tears fell, resulting in what felt like a very ugly display of anxiety.

"Jaime, I...I'm sorry. Please, don't be upset, I..."

He bit his bottom lip hard, trying to stop the disconcerting tears. Instead, in an act of pride, grabbed Bart and pulled him into a hug, resting his head on the small shoulder as he let out another sob. "I don't want to _be_ that." he stammered, his voice cracking in between the words. "I don't want to _hurt_ you."

He rubbed his boyfriend's strong back, not really sure of how to help him other than to just _be _there with him. It was quiet for awhile, because Bart knew words couldn't help. But Jaime soon pulled himself together, wiping his face with his sleeve and looking at Bart's concerned face.

"We should tell Mami what we are. I think."

"No," Bart said, a little _too_ fast, and what seemed to be a _reoccurring _event lately was that Jaime's feelings (maybe _pride_) were hurt, "I think we should keep us secret for a little longer...okay, _hermano_?"

"You're _more _than that to me..." Jaime let the back of his hand brush Bart's pale neck, letting him flinch, but not removing it, "...mi _carino_."

It was quiet again and brown eyes just stared into green as he slowly relaxed into the touch.

"You have _scars_ there," he said, sudden realization hitting him as he let the back of his hand rub the same spot again on his neck.

Bart blinked, pulling away finally, and moving to the door, putting his hand on the knob. "Let's go back down. I'm really hungry."

_I'm sorry, Bart. _The words wanted to come out. They so wanted to. But something wouldn't let them. He was scared. He was _hesitant_. And he didn't exactly know why.


	4. The Jumping Goat

The question just wouldn't leave his head, as he sat there in dismay: _Why does he have scars? Aren't speedsters supposed to heal with superspeed?_

The scarab's armor overtook him, and he gasped a little in surprise, and Bart turned around and looked at him weird.

_Mierda! What are you doing?_

**Increasing vision by...1600%. Target locked: scars located next to the jugular vein.**

"Jaime?"

"Uhh, just testing out the armor! You know me, just...always..." It was harder to coordinate two conversations at once than one would think. And Jaime never really was good with cover stories.

**Report: inflicted roughly 489 days ago. Due to repetitive scarring, the tissue could not heal correctly.**

"489 days..." Jaime mouthed, staring at the scars that were currently magnified in his vision. _That's not so long ago. Who inflicted them?_

**Interrogation necessary for response.**

"Look, if you want to be in costume, I can go get mine in like, two seconds. I-"

He forced the armor to retreat, getting off the bed. "No. Let's just go down. Sorry. You know how the scarab is. Always wants to do things..."

Bart made a face, obviously imagining something more grotesque. Jaime just shook his head and opened his bedroom door, letting Bart out, and they walked down the stairs together.

Needless to say, his mother looked angry, his father, _furious_. He shrunk under their glares, but Bart didn't seem to notice at all, happily stuffing his face with the plentiful food. Finally, Milagro broke the awkward silence, "Jaime! Hábleles acerca de su _novio_!"

He really didn't know what to say. Yes, Bart _was_ his novio, his _boyfriend_, but...Bart had just said he didn't want to tell anyone, yet. So what was he supposed to do?

"Usted es un gran _problema_," his mother snapped.

"Why," he moaned, holding his head. There was no need to be discussing this at the dinner table..._especially_ in front of Bart.

His father finally spoke, voice trembling with what seemed like totally unnecessary rage, "Mentiroso."

"Can someone tell me what's going on?" Bart frowned, looking from person to person.

"I didn't lie, Papi!"

"I have a feeling this is because of me. So, I think I'll just go. It's been crash, meeting you all." Bart pushed an empty plate to the center of the table, brow furrowed, spreading his fingers in a wave, then walking out much faster than a normal human.

"Bart, _wait_-"

His father stopped him from getting up, grabbing his arm. Normally, he'd cry. But he was too _mad_. "You hurt his _sentimientos_! You talk about him like he's not even here," he yanked out of the grip, and pointed angrily at Milagro, "And you! _Mocosa_! You have no right to be so _rude_! Estoy dejando! Enjoy your _dinner_!" No one could stop Jaime from storming out of the dining room and out the door to find Bart. His armor instantly coated his body, and he flew into the sky, hoping to still be able to catch him. At his speed, however, it was unlikely...

He had never yelled at his family like that. _Ever_. He _loved_ Milagro. He loved his mother and his father. But something was weird, just...just the way he _felt_: the _anger_ that was coursing through his veins. He had never felt anything like that before, and _sadness_ hit him as he realized he was one step _closer_ to becoming the tyrant of the future.

**Jaime Reyes.**

"_What_?!" he snapped at the scarab, really not wanting to take his_ crap _at the moment.

**I have located the Impulse's heat signature: 31.7 East, -106.47 South.**

"Fine...direct me there."

**Affirmative.**

The jets in his feet lit up and he was pushed towards with what he recognized as the route up to Scenic Drive. His heart racing, with anxiety and relief, he let himself down."Bart, you're still here, I thought you would have left, I thought..."

"Jaime..." he stared down at the necklace, fumbling the lightning bolt around in his fingers, "...I'm sorry. I caused a rift between you and your family. I don't want that."

"No, I don't care! Bart, I don't _care_!" He hugged him so tight, armor dissipating. He _never _wanted to let him go. "I thought you were mad at me, I thought you wouldn't come back, I thought you had _left_."

"I'd never leave you," the younger boy muttered, rubbing Jaime's back, trying to soothe him. Lately, Jaime had been much more emotional than he would have ever thought he'd be. But that was strangely okay..._and_ scary at the same time.

"I'm sorry they're so stupid, I'm sorry, I'm sorry,_ I'm sorry_..."

"Don't be..." The hug was becoming a little too much, too suffocating, but he'd never say that. He just stood there, letting Jaime squeeze and hold him until he was content.

"Please forgive me."

"It's me who should be apologizing. I'm sorry. I wreck every-"

"Bart!" Jaime pulled away from the hug, instead clutching on to his shoulders a little _too_ tight, "You_ never _wreck_ anything_. So_ don't _say that."The speedsters cheeks went a little red and he scratched his cheek nervously, looking out at the spectacular view that he could probably never get used to. Jaime's hand dropped from the shoulder and instead moved to his waist and he gazed out at El Paso. "I just don't want you to ever leave."

"I won't. I knew that when I came here, it was a one-way trip. I wouldn't ever be going back, and I was okay with that. I just..."

"Tell me. Tell me more about _it_," Jaime begged, suddenly gripping tighter on to his waist, fingernails digging through his shirt into his skin. Bart just shifted uncomfortably. It was almost _sick_ of him to ask for what had happened to be repeated.

_Almost._

"You never paid any particular attention to me. I was just another 'meatbag'."

He couldn't help his mouth from quivering, and his throat was getting tight and dry. He wanted to look down at him, but he couldn't. He just stared out at the cityscape, almost blankly. He couldn't imagine himself like that, like Black Beetle, on mode, he...he just _couldn't_.

**Ask about the scars.**

"How did you get the scars on your neck?"

Bart moved away, the pain in his side becoming too unbearable. He looked up at Jaime, looking nothing but _sad_. "It's nothing."

"Those aren't just _any _scars."

"They're from _you_, okay? But I _don't_ want to talk about it."

"I just want to _know_..."

"Blue, sometimes-"

"_Don't_ call me that. You _know_ you can call me _Jaime_. _All the time_." His hands were on him, again, clutching on to his shoulders, and it was starting to get a little overwhelming, because Bart really didn't like the way he kept grabbing on to him like he was...

"Right, hermano...I'm sorry," Bart whimpered, looking down at the necklace once more, "I just want to take things slow. Get used to things around here. Get used to _us_."

"Okay. That's..." he sighed, "...fine." He let go.

_Meat_.

* * *

"Jaime, are you going to speak to us?"

"No," he growled, kicking off his Osiris shoes and running up the stairs to his bedroom. And he didn't want to even think about confronting his family right now. They were all jerks. They had no right to judge him _or _Bart...

He pulled off his hoodie and got into his pajamas, figuring that he'd shower later. Whatever. He crawled into his bed. And he couldn't sleep. All he could do was roll over on his side and look at his phone, making sure that there were no new texts from Bart. And of course, there _weren't_. Probably because Jaime didn't text him in the first place.

His mother opened the door. "Jaime?"

"What?" Great. "Not a good time to talk, Mami."

"Please, Jaime. We were all so happy to see you so...so _involved_. You haven't been sharing much with us lately, and he is a very nice boy-"

"Leave me alone!" He stood up, lifting his hand like he was going to hit, but he never would. He instantly felt pretty guilt-stricken, so he added, "Please." She took the hint and left, closing his door and running down the stairs, probably to report the incident to his father.

_Whatever._

Picking up his cell phone, he saw that there were indeed no texts. His fingers trembled as he moved them across the keypad on his cell phone. 'I miss you', he wrote, and sent it to Bart.

** Jaime Reyes: you have not gotten sleep in roughly 47 hours.**

"I don't care."

**Take advantage of the Impulse's absence, and get some.**

"No." He stared at his phone, tapping the screen with his thumb every time it started to dim. He laid back in bed, pushing his feet under the blue covers, curling his toes and biting his lip. _Nothing _was happening. But he wasn't going to give up.

'What are you doing, my amorcito?' he sent, shifting on to his side, continuing to stare at the phone. "Come on, you're supposed to be _fast_..." Jaime muttered, dropping his phone on to his pillow, next to his head, running a hand through his short hair. School was tomorrow, but he was _seriously_ considering skipping. At the same time, with the way he just spoke to his mother, she probably wouldn't be letting him get away with things for quite some time.

Still, the bright light of the screen started getting to him, and he closed his dark eyes instinctively. Sleep overtook him, and he couldn't help it, he was _exhausted_. It felt so nice to lay there, warm in his bed, nothing but the sound of his ceiling fan, not even the scarab's annoying voice in his head.

He was jolted awake when he heard his phone vibrate uncomfortably loud next to his head. He wasn't sure of how long he had been sleeping. Or if he had really just fallen asleep at all. But that didn't matter, Bart was texting him!

'Im reading a spanish dictionary...se te ha impresionado? idk how to do that upside down ? on here.'

Jaime smiled, feeling so relieved. 'Yes, thats really good but I wish you were here to cuddle with me. My queirdo."

'I have no idea what that means but it always makes me feel happy when you call me those names.'

He bit his lip in pure bliss, feeling so excited that Bart was responding so quickly. It hadn't even been a whole minute...typing as fast as his fingers would allow, he replied, 'I like caling youthem too.' Some typos this time, but oh well, he had already sent it. Sitting up in bed, he stared at his phone, bringing his knees to his chest as he waited for the reply.

**This is preposterous.**

"_Callate_."

* * *

School was boring. Monotonous. _Lifeless_.

He just kept staring out the window, thinking about the same things he's been thinking about since the night before: Bart, being on mode, Bart, his family, Bart, his vacation off the team, Bart, being on mode...

And of course, Bart.

Bart was just so _perfect_. His pale skin against his own tan, the little freckles that dotted it, the way his big, green eyes blinked up at him, the way he dressed, his thin, toned, runner's body..

Still, Jaime got the feeling that _he _didn't feel that way about _him_. And that sort of _hurt_. And he wondered how he could become what Bart wanted. He looked down at his own hand and he dropped his pencil on to his notebook, not even hearing his Algebra teacher.

He had searched for every reason Bart wouldn't want to go farther in their relationship, and that was the best answer he had, because-

The bell rang. _Gracias a Dios! _He scrambled to gather all of his materials and throw them into his backpack, bolting out of the classroom and out the front door. As expected, Bart was waiting for him near the sidewalk. His face lit up and he resisted the urge to use the suit to get to him quicker. "Hi!"

"Hermano! Que pasa?"

Jaime laughed and pulled him into a big hug, smiling so big it almost hurt. "You really _were_ practicing, huh?"

Bart smiled, resting his chin on Jaime's shoulder. He saw students staring at them and wondered if Jaime was aware that they were in a public place in which many people knew him. Probably not. And that was sort of really cute.

"Totally. Now, I don't know about you, but I'm _starving_."

"Yeah, hey, I'll take you to the place I go with all my friends." Jaime pulled away and Bart was a little relieved

"What's it called?"

They started walking. "The Jumping Goat."

"The Jumping...?"

"Goat. Trust me, it's crash." Jaime put his hands in his jeans pockets, not being able to stop staring at Bart. He looked so beautiful in the sunlight like this. And he thought back to when he had told him that he never really got to see a blue sky. Was the future really so desolate?

He smiled again. With Bart by his side, the world could _never_ be desolate.

"I told Wally about us."

His face fell. "What?"

"I told him! Said Dick knew for weeks. In fact, everyone knew. Even Gramps!"

"Really," he half-asked, half-stated, in a daze. He was right: everyone really _did _know. It_ was _obvious. "So..the team, too?"

"Yeah, everyone! Isn't that crash? Makes everything so much easier."

"I...I guess. But I thought you were worried about-"

"Yeah, I dunno. I was a little moody yesterday. I'm good now, though. I mean, everything happens for a reason right? And there's no hiding it if everyone already knows."

"Then, my parents-"

"Yeah, your parents. We can tell them, ese," Bart smiled.

He thought back to when he yelled at his mother and felt even more guilty.

"Something wrong?"

"No, uh, no. Nada. We're almost there."

"Really? It's so close to school?"

"'Course, that's why we always go there..." Jaime paused, looking at Bart's neck. He was still wearing the necklace, and that thought made his cheeks go hot and red. "You're...still wearing that?"

The speedster looked a little confused, then he followed Jaime's eyes and smiled as he picked up the polymer lightning bolt off his chest. "Doi!"

He couldn't deny the utter happiness he felt inside him. "Well, here we are."

Jaime held the door open and Bart looked around with a grin on his face. "Wow this is...sooo retro!"

"It's a diner, ese. It's _supposed_ to be retro!"

The young couple sat down together at a table. Jaime flagged down a waitress by holding up his hand half-heartedly. She came over and smiled at him, giggling, and only staring at him. "Hi, Jaime! What's up?"

Bart swore she purposely gave her abnormally large breasts a purposeful jiggle. He looked at Jaime to see his reaction, and with a relief, he saw that there really was none. He was just politely smiling.

"I'm just hanging with my buddy, Bart."

"Hi, Bart. Haven't seen you around here before." She smiled at him, but it wasn't as genuine.

He gave a nod and tried his best to smile.

"So what would you guys like to drink?"

"Orange soda."

"Water."

She smiled and strutted back to the drink machine, preparing their beverages.

Bart instantly frowned. "I don't like her. Why is she hitting on you?"

"Hitting on me? What are you talking about?"

"Didn't you see the way she was trying to get you to look at her boobs?!"

**The Impulse really thinks we are so clueless that we would be distracted by such nonsense?**

"Uhh..."

"You're clueless," Bart held his head.

"It doesn't matter anyway, Bart. You know I'm not attracted to that."

She put the drinks down in front of them, smiling. "I'll give you a couple of minutes to order, Jaime."

Bart rolled his eyes and glared at her back, taking a sip of his soda. "I don't like her."

"Don't be so jealous."

"I-I'm _not_ jealous, okay? By the way, you're paying...right?"

* * *

Jaime sat down on his bed cross-legged and Bart crawled to the middle of the bed and sat with his legs spread out, on either side of Jaime's sides.

"I missed you _so_ much today." He held on to his hands tight, smiling at him as he watched him squirm and blush. "I've been thinking about you all day long. I couldn't focus on my schoolwork." Jaime leaned forward, kissing his forehead, but there was something about Jaime's grip, kisses, and constant praising that was starting to get into Bart. It felt weird, _forced_.

But he _had_ to do it. Because if he didn't, Bart would think he was a _terrible person_. And he could_ never _let him think that...because Bart was his_ everything_. Losing him was _not _an option.

His kisses moved lower, the side of forehead, then his cheek and ear, and then down to his neck, making sure it wasn't the side with the scars, and started to suck and knead the skin gently between his teeth, wanting so bad to give Bart a hickey, even if it only would last a minute or so. But it seemed he wouldn't even give him that satisfaction. He pushed his head away and nodded no.

"I want to make you_ mine_," whined Jaime, hands moving down from his shoulders to his chest, where he felt the little heart inside beating rapidly. It made him uncomfortable, so he kept moving, down to his lap, where he rested his hands, waiting for Bart's reply.

"It would heal in a _flash_..." he muttered, not adding the fact that Jaime had _already_ marked him in more than one undesirable way.

His hands crept up the back of his t-shirt, closing his eyes as he kissed Bart, rubbing his hands in little circles, hoping it was comforting to the younger teen, who mewled quietly in response. Closer, they were getting _closer_...

Bart pushed him down, smiling at him as their kiss broke, and he in turn shoved _his_ hands up his shirt, touching the dark chest underneath him. Jaime grinned.

"You're _sexy_."

He just smiled, feeling around the toned muscle.

Jaime's face fell, and he started to wonder why Bart wouldn't say the same to him.

Bart caught on this time. "What's wrong?" His hands froze.

"Do you..think I'm sexy, too?"

"'Course."

He didn't like that answer. It seemed _fake_. "Would you _please_ tell me about the future?"

The younger teen made a face and his hands pulled out from under his shirt. "You seem to only care about the _future_. What about _now_?"

"I just..."

"When I first came here, I didn't think we'd be friends, let alone boyfriends," he was already on the other side of the bedroom, hand on the doorknob, and Jaime's heart was starting to race, his throat getting tight and his eyes itchy, "Jaime, if you can't accept the fact that you _hurt_ me, and that maybe it's a little hard for me to trust you _completely_, and if you can't give me _time_ to, I _don't_ think we can be together."

* * *

**A/N:** _The Jumping Goat is from the Blue Beetle series~I always thought it was a cute diner._


	5. Let's Just Rest

"I'm...sorry," was all Jaime could choke out. His mind was going crazy with angst.

Bart's hand fell from the doorknob and Jaime didn't really see anything else, but the next thing he _did_ comprehend was Bart's arms wrapped tight around him in a hug. "No, _I'm _sorry. Sometimes I talk without thinking. It just comes out, you know? I just...want you to understand. Like, where I'm coming from and stuff. I wasn't really supposed to give you _spoilers_ in the first place, but...but I sort of _slipped _and acted in the moment, then, too. I'm messing a lot of things up, but...but the one thing I got right, Jaime, is being with _you_. I _don't _want to mess _that_ up."

He bit his lip, holding back tears. This was amazing, this was everything he had ever hoped for. This was _perfect_. He rubbed Bart's back, feeling his shoulder blades and then his spine. His flawless, scarab-less spine.

_I wish mine felt like this._

**We have an advantage over all humans.**

"It's not worth it..." he muttered quietly, feeling the tense muscles under his fingers finally start to relax.

"Huh?"

"Bar-Bartholomew, _thanks_. Thanks for everything."

"You're welcome. But uh, for what?" He pulled away, hands still lingering on Jaime's upper arms. "Annnnd you don't have to call me Bartholomew."

"Thanks for, you know...excepting who I _am_, despite...who I..._uh_, was, _will be_?"

He smiled and nodded. "So let's go tell your parents."

** I advise against this.**

"Alright..." Jaime pushed off the bed and couldn't deny his nerves, and the way his hands were slightly trembling as he walked downstairs with Bart.

Why? _It's not like I'm revealing my secret identity or anything._

**Tactical error.**

At this point, he didn't really care about any kind of tactics or errors or superhero whatnot. He was just glad Bart was taking the reigns for once.

_Callate._

"Hi, _novio_," Milagro grinned, dancing around Bart the minute he got down the steps. He just smiled politely.

"Milagro! Where did you even get that idea?"

"I saw you the other night! Don't pretend like it didn't happen!"

"_'Saw' _us?"

She grabbed Bart's hand, giving him big eyes and pouty lips. "_You_ believe me, right? Tell Jaime he's wrong!"

Bianca Reyes walked into the room. "Is she causing trouble again," she sighed, sounding pretty stressed out. Work must have been hard.

"Mami, I have to talk to you. Well, _we_ have to talk to you."

"Of course, Jaime..." She sat down on the couch, and the boys joined her to sit on the opposing one, except for the fact that Milagro wouldn't let go of Bart's arm.

He smiled at her. "You're cute, you know that?"

She paused, her cheeks blushing. "Hmph!" She ran off and up the stairs. Bart looked at Jaime, who hadn't really been paying attention. His hands were kneading each other nervously, and his jaw was clenched.

**Do not proceed.**

_Why do you keep saying that? What's your problem? Everyone already knows, and my mom basically does, too, we're just confirming it. Just let Bart do his thing. He knows what he wants and if it's what he wants, I want it, too._

"First of all...I'm sorry for the way I acted yesterday."

"I accept your apology, Jaime. Next...?"

"Well, Mrs. Reyes, I just wanted to let you know that I am very grateful for how welcoming you have been to me."

"Of course, Bart...you're a very nice boy. I apologize for my own rudeness..."

"_Mami_. It's _okay_. Anyway, we just wanted to tell you, like, officially, that we are _together_."

She just nodded, a small smile on her lips. "I understand. Thanks for telling me. But I think Milagro will be a little _disappointed_."

_See, nothing happened. I don't know why you were so nervous about this._

The scarab was quiet.

"That is _too_ cute," Bart grinned, nudging Jaime's side.

* * *

"What are you doing, Jaime? Are you going on a _daaa~aaaate_?"

"N-No!" Jaime grabbed his toothbrush, turning on the sink faucet as he navigated around a frolicking Milagro. Why she hadn't left his side since Bart left, he had no idea.

"Then where you goin'?"

"Somewhere."

"So you _are_ going on a date!"

He took the opportunity to shove the toothbrush into his mouth, scrubbing furiously. Something that he always thought about were his _teeth_. Maybe it was just a personal thing, but he paid _a lot_ of attention to _other people's _teeth, so rationally, they paid attention to _his_, right?

What if Bart finally wanted to go further, and they had just been eating Chicken Whizees together on his bed, and then Bart would go to kiss him, and everything would be all hot and nice, and then all the sudden he'd pull away with disgust at the sight of a piece of seasoning stuck in-

_Dios mio, _he thought. Now he was just scaring himself.

**Your fears are completely irrational. No matter how much you scrub, your teeth will not get any more white in one treatment.**

The scarab was right. He had to stop.

And then there was Milagro to keep dealing with.

"Jaim_eeee_! When is he coming over again?"

"At six," he spat into the sink, "and then we're leaving."

"Can _I _come if it's not a date?"

"No!"

"Why not?"

Jaime sat down on the toilet, taking out some floss. "Milagro, we can talk about this later."

"But I wanna know now! Or I'll go tell Mami that-"

**Danger. She knows too much.**

"_What_? What will you tell her?"

"That you and your novio were _kissing_!"

_She's just my sister, Bugsuit. And it's got nothing to do with 'the mission', anyway._

"Go ahead, tell her that, she won't care." Milagro didn't need to know that they confessed what they were. _Yet_, anyways. She looked a little stunned at that, and luckily, it was enough to bore her out of the bathroom.

He ran the floss through each tooth. Once, twice, three times...

**Stop.**

"They _have_ to be clean," he scowled, baring his teeth in the mirror, groaning when he saw blood creeping out from between his teeth on to his gums, and moments later, he tasted the iron.

**You **_**were**_** advised to stop, Jaime Reyes.**

"Fine. Clean enough, okay?" He grabbed a tissue and leaned over the cupboard, close to the mirror as he dabbed the gums with the tissue, lip twitching at the taste of the material, until they had generally stopped bleeding. Not having much time to waste, he went to his room and threw open his closet, staring at his wardrobe.

"What would Bart like," he muttered, absently, picking through the numerous articles inside.

**The Impulse once complimented you on the fourth shirt from the end.**

He rummaged through the clothes near the back of the closet, pulling out the shirt. "You could have just said the _blue American Eagle polo_."

* * *

"Bart!" Milagro ran to him, her ponytails swooshing from side to side, ignoring her mother who had just let him in. She grabbed onto his pale hand and looked up at him. "Jaime's upstairs! But he said you couldn't come up yet...he's still getting ready! So you will just have to come in with me!"

Bart laughed, running a hand through his hair, still wet from the rain outside. "If you say so."

She lead him to the living room where they sat on the floor. Milagro handed him a Flash doll. "You'll be Flash, and I'll be Green Lantern."

He chuckled, looking down at it. "Hmm...alright. I know a lot about the Flash, you know."

"Really? Oh yeah, you're from Central City, right?"

"Yep. I even got to help him out once..."

Her eyes widened, sparkling with curiousity. "_Really_?!"

Jaime walked into the room from the kitchen. "Eh? Milagro! Why didn't you tell me Bart was here?"

"I did!"

"No, you _didn't_." He walked over, looking at what they were doing and rolled his eyes, hands on his hips. "Why did you force him to play dolls with you?"

"We hardly started! No seas malo!"

"Come on, Bart." He stretched his hand down, letting Bart grab it and pull himself up. Their hands lingered on each other's for a bit longer than usual, then Jaime clutched onto it, and lead him to the front door. He opened it, and groaned, his heart instantly sinking. "It's raining!"

Bart frowned, popping up at his shoulder. "Is that...bad?"

**I could have easily given you an accurate prediction if you would have asked.**

"We were gonna..._ugh_." He closed the door and turned around. "Well, now we _can't_."

He scratched is head, feeling a little awkward, not sure of how to comfort his boyfriend. "Well, we can always just stay here. Or zeta to my place, if you don't mind getting a little wet."

Jaime's face suddenly lightened. He had never been invited to Bart's house! He had always thought that Bart didn't trust him enough, but now he was welcoming him there and who cares about a little rain, he was going to go if it killed him!

"Yeah!" He grabbed Bart's shoulders, smiling from ear to ear. "That sounds great!"

Bart smiled shyly, hugging Jaime. The stronger arms wrapped around him and in that moment, nothing mattered and everything felt okay. Those same arms that had scared him, had hurt him, had suffocated him, were comforting and perfect. He felt his heartbeat against his ear and he wanted to just stay like this forever, hearing that heartbeat, a constant reminder that Jaime was _very_ human.

To his dismay, he pulled away. "Let's go!"

Oh well. There would be time for more hugs later.

* * *

"I've never really _been_ to Missouri..." Jaime stepped out of the alleyway, letting Bart leading him out to where the sun was still shining bright, despite the time, and the streets were busy and colorful.

"Well, here it is! The '_Show Me' _state. So, uh, I guess I'm _showing_ you!"

"It's so different!"

"It's not _hot _as heck here," Bart smiled, poking Jaime gently. "Come on, Jay's house is only a mile away from here."

"You have a zeta that close to home?"

"I'm never far from anything."

"Heh, right..." He followed him to the house, enjoying his ramblings the entire way. It was nice to hear him talking again, even if it was so fast and impulsive, he could hardly understand the words, let alone meaning behind them. But it was a sign that things were becoming normal, again.

"Well, here we are!" He vibrated right through the door and Jaime stood there, confused, not sure whether or not he should wait or-"Oh, sorry," he vibrated right back out on to the step, "I forgot you can't do that. I'm so used to being alone." He threw the door open, probably having unlocked it when he was just inside. Jaime laughed, scratching the back of his head nervously, walking in. The house was smaller than his, and a little more messy, most likely because of Bart.

"Let's go right to my room!" He grabbed his hand once more, and pulled him up the stairs.

The walls were covered in pop-culture posters, spanning from bands to cartoons. The floor had comics scattered all over, along with multiple Spanish dictionaries and "how-to's". T-shirts, baseball tees, and jeans were tossed left and right. The most horrifying part, however, were the seemingly hundreds_ (the scarab corrected him: it was one hundred and eight) _chip and snack packages, all of course, empty.

If Jaime's mother saw this room, she would have a fit. Oh well, at least he could use this as an example against her complaining whenever his room was "messy", because his messy was_ nothing _compared to this.

"Nice."

He led him to the bed and sat down on it. "Yeah, I dunno, it's not much, obviously, the house isn't as big as yours or anything. Jay's a great man, though. Even if he doesn't have as much money as your old guy does."

"N-No, it...my house is normal!"

"Relax," Bart grinned, pulling him down next to him and moving so close to his face that their lips were almost touching. Taking the opportunity to catch him off guard, his hands snaked to his shoulders and started tickling.

He jerked, flopping down on the bed and _taking_ it. Jaime watched as he moved his hands from his shoulders to his stomach, tickling him gently and relishing the happy, yet protesting, expression on Bart's face.

He watched as his hips rolled up and down in response, muscles contracting and his knees moving together and apart in sparatic motion. His eyes lit up when his fingers hit a particular spot on his side, and Jaime grinned, pursuing it, and Bart started laughing so hard that he decided the best thing to do was vibrate through the bed, landing on the floor and crawling out from under it, still giggling a little, looking up at Jaime on the bed.

Jaime couldn't help but smile, finding him just so adorable and attractive.

"That...that was not...fair."

"Says the boy who can vibrate through solid objects!"

"You'll pay for that," he huffed, finally catching his breath, pushing Jaime down on the bed and straddling his waist. The older boy sat up a bit, supporting himself with one arm, while wrapping the other around Bart's lithe back, kissing him softly as the two pale hands explored he couldn't help but notice as they moved on, Bart started grinding against him, kissing him more passionately.

"Hnn..." Jaime moaned into his mouth, moving his hand to his head to hold him in place, bucking his hips back, but before he could go any farther, Bart ceased all movement and pulled away from the kiss, looking into the dark eyes in front of him.

Why was it that they always got so far, only to end up like this? Frustrated, teased, and upset.

"I don't...like..._hm_." He seemed cautious, even to explain his actions.

But Jaime _wasn't_ taking any more risks. "It's okay," he said, petting Bart's cheek with the back of his hand, frowning.

** This whole act was completely pointless. It got us nowhere. No further points of relationship were established. We have made no progress.**

_Why do __**you**__ care?_

**Insufficient data.**

It seriously took a lot of strength to hold in his laughter, but considering that Bart was on a verge of tears, he could manage.

"Come on, let's do something...mi amor." He pulled him down on to his chest and rolled to the side, hugging him close to his body.

"This is crash, actually..." he whimpered, resting his head in the crook of Jaime's neck as he curled up next to him, "...I just like your arms around me like this."

"R-Really?" Jaime's face felt a little hot, and he was glad Bart's head was down because he was probably blushing right now...

"Yeah..."

And then it was quiet. He sighed, calming himself down and closing his eyes to think: Bart usually was sort of touchy, but right now, he was fine with being so close...that made Jaime so happy inside. He just wanted to hold Bart like this, forever, and not have any other worry in the world.

But that's not how things were. There were many worries floating around in his mind, mainly the poor scars on the boy's neck, and his supposed future, not to mention his outburst earlier, about not being about to trust him. What was _that_ all about? And what about that old "psychological trauma" analysis crap? Or the whole scarab-not-wanting-to-admit-to-his-mom-that-they-were-together.

Right, _relax_. How was that even _possible_ with all of this going on? If only Bart would just give him _answers_ instead of speaking in riddles...

He looked down at him. He was sleeping!

"Dios mio...so cute." Jaime tickled the speedster's cheek gently, feeling pride that he had fallen asleep in _his _arms. Bart didn't really even react whatsoever, but Jaime wasn't complaining. It was nice to be in this position, to not have to move, to just lay there and listen to the stillness and calm of the evening.

However, one could only watch shadows and the sun set through the window for so long, and his eyes went to wandering, almost instantly locking on the scars on his neck. Very slowly, so not to wake him, he removed his arm from around his back and pushed the necklace to the side, running a finger over the length of the scars. There were three, and they were thin and pretty aligned.

_ Are you sure you can't do any more analysis on these, scarab?_

**Negative. Interrogation is necessary.**

_Well, obviously, that can't happen right now_. Jaime went back to hugging Bart to his body, closing his eyes. Maybe he couldn't sleep, but it was still nice to just lay here, the warmth of another body comforting.

* * *

_**A/N: **__It's always calm before the storm!_


	6. Investigation (Sort of)

Bart slept comfortably. It wasn't like before, where he was constantly tossing and turning. He just laid there, his breath quiet and shallow.

Jaime could never sleep. He'd hardly slept since this whole "break" from the team thing started. What if the whole thing really was a cover, an _excuse_ to get him away from the team because of what Bart revealed? What if they were all _scared _of him?

He pressed his face into his neck, breathing in the scent of his burgundy hair. No, he just had to stop _thinking_.

_Just...relax. Sleep. There's no reason you shouldn't. Bart's asleep, you might as well. Nothing else to do. But, Bart...No. No, I shouldn't sleep. I should just stay here and make sure he's okay. _

**Jaime Reyes: you have not been this irrational in quite some time.**

"Bart..." Jaime whispered, longingly, and to his surprise, the speedster stirred, sitting up slowly. He wriggled around so he was facing Jaime's chest and grunted in response. "Are you...are you okay? You're not having bad dreams, are you?"

"No..." he mumbled, licking his dry lips, eyes closing again and breath stabilizing once more. And then he was back to sleep.

Jaime sighed, rubbing Bart's back, feeling a little sleepy himself. This wasn't really why they came to Central City, he had wanted Bart to show him around, to tell him about things he did on a normal basis, to go on dates. But it was late, and there probably wasn't much for two teenage boys to do in a wholesome town at this time, anyway.

_So just sleep and enjoy the peace._

**If you will not cooperate, I will have to use extreme tactics.**

And "extreme tactics" from the scarab is _not_ what Jaime wanted right now. So he tried his best to calm down, to just enjoy this. His last thought before he finally drifted off was that he was _definitely _not going to school tomorrow.

* * *

Jaime squinted, sitting up and rubbing his tired, brown eyes, woken by waves of cold air hitting him. Bart was zooming around the room, tidying up. It actually looked like a completely different place when there was nothing laying on the floor!

"What estas haciendo," he mumbled, finding it too early in the morning to talk proper English.

Bart paused in mid-step, looking at him, blushing slightly. He was already wearing his everyday clothing: a striped sweater and dark-wash skinnies. And Jaime couldn't help but notice that he was _still _wearing that necklace..."Good thing I read through that dictionary. What am I doing, right? Well, see, I was just...I was sort of embarrassed when you came here and saw my room a mess, so I thought I could clean it up a little bit. Not that you said anything about it or anything, but it was just bothering me a little."

"Come here," grumbled Jaime hoarsely, letting his head fall back into the pillow and eyes shut. Bart complied, confused, sitting next to him on the edge of the bed. The older pulled him down into laying position next to him, wrapping his arm around his shoulders forcefully. Slowly, he opened his eyes again and turned his head to the side, resting his cheek on the pillow, just staring at him.

Bart blinked. "Uhh, hermano?"

That adorable, _terrible_ sounding Spanish. It was perfect. He kissed him, tasting fresh peppermint. He must have brushed his teeth already this morning: which reminded Jaime that he hadn't, and that he _probably _had morning breath, but the speedster tasted too good to care one little bit. He was confused at first, then relaxed into the kiss, letting one of his arms tangle behind his head, the other resting on the very bottom of his spine, _dangerously_ close. Jaime pulled away from the kiss, smiling, enjoying his touch very much. He just grinned back, avoiding his eyes, cheeks quite red, watching as his boyfriend sighed heavily and pressed his face back into the pillow, which smelled, to Jaime's content, much like Bart.

"If you want to sleep more, I can leave and give you peace. I don't want to interrupt your-"

"Ith okaff."

Bart laughed a little at the muffled response, rubbing back and forth _right above Jaime's butt_, hand slowly moving underneath the polo. Experimentally, he vibrated it _just so_. The teen let out a moan, laying his head on its side again, opening his eyes once more, staring straight at Bart's innocent face, silently pleading, 'don't stop'.

His hand moved up his back, vibrating, moving around Khaji Da and to all of Jaime's pleasure points, then back down to the very edge of his jeans.

Could this morning get _any_ better?

A little later, after the vibrations had slowly faded away, his hand instead just resting on his back, Jaime sat up, pulling Bart to his chest, eyes hungry with lust for the speedster.

Bart shivered away from the touch at first, but Jaime just kept pursuing, ignoring all the nervous little flinches and quiet gasps he was giving. He was _going _for it this time. His mouth nibbled at his ear, and he whispered, "You smell so nice." His hand continued to work at his thigh, moving closer and closer to his crotch. Bart just whimpered bashfully in response, hands very gently pushing at Jaime's chest: a sad attempt to get him to stop, really. "Come on, I know you like this. It'll feel good for _both_ of us."

"Jaime..."

"Have you done this before?"

He pushed then, hard. Instinctively, as Jaime fell to the floor, his arm turned into a canon, ready to blast everything in a five-mile radius.

**Alert: presented danger. Act now. **

_Oh shut up, it's just my boyfriend. _"Bart?"

"I...I'm sorry!" His eyes were wide, brows furrowed like they always did when he was scared.

"It's okay. I shouldn't...I shouldn't have rushed you like that. _I'm_ sorry."

He made a little whimpering sound that made Jaime frown, and then was out of the room. He looked around, confused, and after a few seconds, got worried that he wasn't returning. He looked down at his hand and the canon retreated. He scanned the room, finding no traces of Bart_ anywhere_, so he left the room, running down the stairs. Jay Garrick was sitting at the table, drinking some coffee and looking at the paper.

"Uh...Mr. Garrick?"

"Oh, hello, Jaime!"

"Where's Bart?"

"Said something about going to see his Grandfather. Didn't catch much else."

Jaime stood there, stunned. _Why_? Why did Bart leave? Did he scare him that much? And what was_ Barry _going to do for him?

He quickly moved back up the stairs and back to his room, feeling the muscles in his chest start to tighten. His breath started getting quick, and soon it was frantic, and uneven, and he was on the bed, holding his head, trying to catch it. But it was moving too fast. He was horrified. Panic was everywhere, spreading from his toes to his fingers to his heart. One breath would take over the other and he started to choke. It hurt. Everything hurt. And he was _scared_. He _messed up_.

** Deploying immediate assistance to regulate breath.**

He was grateful as his chest loosened and he was able to fall back on to his back, staring at the ceiling. His heart slowed back down to its original beat and it was times like this that he didn't mind Khaji-Da much. That didn't stop his head from hurting, though.

"Why would he leave like that?"

**Interrogation required.**

"But he's not here. How can I interrogate him?"

**Tactic suggested: investigation.**

"Investigate? For what?"

**Answers.**

Jaime swallowed hard, sitting up and looking around the room. The scarab was right. Answers were what he needed most, and if Bart was too insecure to give them to him, he'd have to find them himself.

He stood up, gravitating towards the closet first. Opening it, nothing in particular stood out: lots of baseball tees, v-necks, and sweaters...and Jaime's heart skipped a beat happily when he saw the clothes that they had bought together at Cielo Vista. There was nothing really out of the ordinary, but suddenly Jaime had an idea, feeling sick and dirty, but in a _good, _guilty way. Taking a deep breath, he pulled the drawer open.

Quickly, his hand found its way to his mouth, covering it, his cheeks turning hot and red.

He was staring down at piles and piles of Bart's _underwear_.

"Dios mio..." he whispered, slowly letting his hand fall back to the drawer, hesitantly reaching in and feeling the soft fabric, most of which was either red, yellow, or dark heather gray. Slowly, he picked up a pair of briefs that had _Flash symbols _on them. He bit his lip, staring.

**Stay on task.**

He cleared his throat, dropping them back down into the drawer and slamming it and the closet shut. "Right...scan for all items with traces of chronotron radiation."

The suit took over him and his eyes searched the room, one particular object lighting up in Bart's dresser across the room.

**Analysis complete. One object with chronotron radiation residue detected nearby.**

"Right...this should give us something." Jaime moved toward the dresser, yanking it open, armor dissipating as he found a drawer, seemingly empty except for a..."Uh...is this a...like..._bolt_? Or something?"

** Error.**

"I think it's like a bolt, or like, a screw from something. I dunno...scan it?"

"_Jaime_? What are you doing?"

He twirled around, item still in hand, looking at Bart, who was standing in the doorway. His mouth went dry and his eyes darted all around the room, brain working as fast as it could to figure out a way out of this, but he couldn't think of _anything_.

* * *

_**A/N: **Young Justice is over, and I'm still trying to cope after that finale. So short chapter. The past two have been pretty peaceful, but the crap's gonna hit the fan sooner or later._


	7. Central City

"Why were you looking in my stuff?"

He had _no_ idea what to say. Absolutely none. He just stared at Bart, who's face was paler than usual. This was such an awkward situation. He thought about joking _'scavenger rights', _but some part of him thought that, if he were in a video game and that was one of the choices and he chose it, he'd be redirected to a "Game Over" screen.

**Life is not a game.**

The only thing he could say was the _truth_, so..."I just wanted to see if you had anything from the future."

Bart clenched his teeth, hands balling into small fists at his side. His whole body tensed, Jaime didn't need the scarab to tell him it, it was obvious, and he looked genuinely angry, which was something that hardly happened.

But when he spoke, his voice was quiet. _Eerily _quiet. "Why are you so obsessed with the future? That's _all_ you've talked about for the past couple days. I wish I had never told you _anything_, Jaime." He moved towards him, eyes sparking with _something _that he hadn't seen before, "I may have lied to the others, but I didn't want to lie to you." His face softened a little, eyebrows slowly falling back into their natural position, Bart's hand drifting around Jaime's, which was just trembling at his side. "But I told you and ever since I did, you've treated me differently. And...I dunno, I lost my original point, but...yeah."

"I just don't want to hurt you," Jaime choked, pulling Bart into a tight hug, "I'd do _anything_ to stop that from happening."

Bart swallowed, licking his lips nervously and slowly putting his hands on Jaime's back, trying to comfort him. "Okay, I'll tell you a little."

His heart leaped and he pulled away, sitting eagerly on his bed and throwing the bolt aside. "Thank you."

The speedster made a face, still annoyed, but apparently, Jaime would _never _get the idea. "The truth is...I was _troublesome_ to you."

"W-What do you mean?"

"I always found a way to get out of the collar..." Bart smiled, but it didn't match his eyes, which were currently pretty flat and dark, staring down at Jaime's shirt blankly, "...you always had to put it back on me. I frustrated you. But..."

Jaime's chest was starting to move up and down, his heart pumping blood faster and faster. Why did he always get so anxious? He never had anxiety problems until Bart came. Until this all started. Until he learned he was destined to be a _monster_.

It wasn't _fair_. He heard his breath getting heavier, and each time he sucked in the air a little more hungrily, feeling like, despite his efforts, there was less and less filling his lungs.

"But you're _not_ that same person."

There was a sharp hiss of breath, and then Jaime just pulled him to him so tight, clinging on to him like he'd die if he let go, his chest loosening as the scarab probably did something to help. He didn't want to stop feeling him on him, their bodies pressed together. He didn't want to stop hearing his heart beat, or his breath, or his voice, or stop feeling his small frame. He wanted him. He wanted to be _one _with him _so_ badly. "So...what about the screw," he forced, trying to push his other thoughts aside. Nothing sexual. He _couldn't_ be sexual with Bart.

"That's nothing. It's from my time machine."

"Oh."

"Yeah." He wanted to ask Jaime to stop gripping on to him so tight. But he was scared to.

It seemed like ages before he pulled away. "The scars on your neck?"

"They're from the collar. _Putting on _the collar. So can you _please_ stop asking about the future now? And _promise_ me you won't look through my stuff anymore."

"I-I didn't look through _all _of it, I swear!"

**Only at the Impulse's under garments.**

"I searched for items with traces of chronotron radiation! That's it!"

"You could have just _asked _me," he said, a look of disappointment on his face. Which only made Jaime feel worse.

"I'm sorry, Bart. I promise, I promise. I'll never do any of this _ever_ again!" His pleading was almost pathetic. And the scarab made it a point to tell him so. But something told Bart that it _would_ happen again, despite what Jaime kept saying. Because it always did. He kept touching him in places he didn't want to touch, he kept trying to take off his clothes, he kept handling him roughly, he kept asking about the future...

"Look, everything's crash. I promise, okay?" He pulled away, moving over to his bed. Getting on the floor and crawling underneath it, he popped out on the other side, holding a velvet box. "I didn't want you looking around my room because I didn't want you to find this...it's, you know. Like...uh, thank you for the necklace."

"Bart..." He took it eagerly, flipping the box open. Jaime felt his nose start to sting and tears forming in his eyes, so he quickly blinked them away, not wanting to cry. His burning hot cheeks were embarrassing enough. He picked the watch out of the box, examining it and watching it sparkle in the light. "How did you afford this?"

It was an Armani, with a black leather strap and emerald accents around the face. It suited him quite well, actually, and he quickly put it around his wrist, admiring it.

He shrugged, a blush coming across his face, too. "Jay gives me an allowance each week. I just saved up. It wasn't hard."

But Jaime knew this watch couldn't have been bought with an allowance. He must have gotten Jay or Barry to help him for it...Jaime didn't know whether to feel guilty or incredibly giddy with joy. "You didn't have to do this. Really, Bart. What I gave you was _nothing_, especially compared to this...I love you. I love you _so_ much." He pulled him close, nuzzling his face into his hair, whispering, "mi carino, mi corazon, mi amor".

"Heh...thanks. I...I love you, too." His voice was so soft and cute and adorable and gentle and perfect and _everything_ felt okay. Hearing him say that in such a way just made Jaime's life complete. _Nothing_ could go wrong today.

"So are we gonna hang like, all day?"

"_Totally_. It'll be crash. I have a few things planned."

Jaime just smiled, sitting on Bart's bed as he took out his phone. "Okay, let me just call Mami. She's probably worried sick."

"I'll give you privacy," and before he could protest, the speedster was gone, door shut behind him.

He listened as the phone rang once, twice, then..."JAIME!"

"M-Milagro?"

"You're gonna be in trouble! You're gonna be in trouble!"

"Hey, stop that! Dar el teléfono a Mami."

"Fiiiiiine!"

"Jaime...dónde estás? I called Paco, Tye, Brenda...no one knew where you were!"

"I'm sorry...I'm with Bart. Um...can you call me in for school today?"

There was silence on the other side of the call, and then a tired sigh. "As long as you're okay."

"I am. I promise. I'll be back tomorrow."

"Are you sure you're-"

"Estoy _bien_, Mami!"

"Alright, Jaime...see you tomorrow. Be careful._ Por favor_."

"I _will_. Bye." He turned off his phone and slipped it into his back pocket, walking out into the hallway. Bart wasn't there, so he headed down the stairs. Joan greeted him, and he replied politely, turning the corner to find his novio shoving a cream cheese bagel in his mouth. He smiled, finding him absolutely adorable when he ate.

"Leph'ff go!" He swallowed and grinned at Jaime, who leaned forward and kissed his cheek, then putting his arm around his waist and leading him out the front door.

"Where are we going, exactly?"

"I dunno, just thought we could walk around a little. Stretch our legs. Get something to eat."

"Sounds good."

"In Spanish, that's...bueno, right?"

"Yes," Jaime laughed.

Central City was bright, and sunny. Lively, but not in the way El Paso was. It definitely felt smaller, and the people...less hostile, and almost _too_ friendly. But Jaime didn't really mind the change. It was nice. And more than anything, he liked imagining Bart walking these same sidewalks every day.

"So this is the City Center. It's like, basically where everything is. Including where the bad guys usually attack."

"Every place has those parts. Maybe me and you...can you know, go on patrol together one day."

"That...would be crash," Bart said after a short silence, smiling as he held the door open to a fast food restaurant.

Jaime liked that idea so much. Crime fighting, but outside of the team...just them. No having to worry about what others thought, or change the way you work just to fit with their dynamic.

**We are best on our own.**

_No, I like being with Bart. It makes things...fun._

**Our mission is not supposed to be 'fun'.**

The couple sat down at a booth, and Bart instantly started scanning over the menu. Jaime wasn't too interested...the food wasn't necessarily healthy, and he was more focused on what he _said _rather than what he ate. Taking out of his phone, he started googling.

Bart pretended not to watch, but he did from the corner of his eyes, wondering what Jaime was suddenly so focused on. After awhile, Jaime excused himself to the bathroom. He understood privacy. He respected it, for the most part, but that doesn't mean he wasn't paranoid about his mission. Glancing over at the bathrooms to make sure Jaime wasn't coming back out already, he grabbed his phone. He was going to just check his texts-not because he was possessive, or insecure, or_ anything _like that-he just wanted to make sure nothing Reach-related was going on. To his surprise, there was a window pulled up on it, probably what he had just been reading. He stared, reading it with superspeed and then quickly placing it face down in its original position.

The article had been "Top 10 Dating Tips". He made a face, holding his cheek in his hand while he worried at his bottom lip. That definitely wasn't what he expected to see. Did Jaime really think he needed something like that? Bart just wanted him to be himself. But now he had to worry about whether or not he should reveal that he saw that. Well, for now, he'd keep it secret. If he could actually keep his mouth shut.

Jaime soon returned, scooting back into the booth. He glanced at his phone.

**Jaime Reyes: your phone has the Impulse's fingerprints on it. 94% positive that they are recently made.**

_You must be calculating wrong or something, because there's no reason he'd look at my phone. Bart trusts me, okay? And stop calling him 'the Impulse'._

He put the phone in his pocket nervously. "So...have you figured out what you were ordering, yet?"

Bart, who had been carefully watching his reaction, just smiled. "_Double chili cheese burger_, of course! Wally told me they're super crash." Jaime made a face, holding his head. He didn't really approve of Bart's eating habits. If you could even call them habits, it was more like he just ate whatever was in sight. Bart frowned, scratching his cheek. "What's wrong?"

"Have you ever had a _salad_, ese?"

"A...salad?"

He sighed. "Come on. Let's go order." He put his phone in his pocket and stood up, smiling to himself as Bart sped around the booth to the cash register.

"Hello, sir. What could I get for you?"

"Two double chili cheese burgers!"

"And what would you like to drink with that, sir?"

"Uhhh..Mountain Dew?"

"Alright, is that all?"

"Oh, uh, no, my buddy Jaime's still gotta order."

The worker rolled her eyes.

Jaime put his hands in the back pockets of his jeans, leaning back on his heels as he glanced overhead at the menu. "A premium southwest salad, please."

"And what would you like to drink with that?"

"Water, please."

She gave him a look, as if asking why he was even here when he wasn't going to eat more than 200 calories, before pressing a button on the cash register and making it ring. "That'll be $12.97."

"Oh! I'm _moded_, I totally forgot money at home!"

Jaime smiled, pulling a twenty out of his back pocket. He had a feeling something like this would happen. Anyway, it was hilarious seeing the look on the woman's face. If Bart made such weird impressions during a three-minute conversation, he wondered what he was like at school.

"$7.03 is your change, and that'll be right up, sir." She handed him a number twenty-two and they walked back to the booth. Jaime took out his phone, glancing at it again. His eyes widened when one of them was to 'keep off your phone'. He quickly shoved it in his pocket, looking around the restaurant nervously.

"What's wrong," the ginger asked, frowning. He had an _idea_, but...

"Oh, uh, nada! Nada, carino. Do you come here often?"

"Me and Barry always stop by after patrol!"

"Oh really? In costume?"

"Yeah, dude!"

He smiled. "Really."

"Yeah. I just never had a chance to try the chili burger. But I _have _had the chili _dogs_, and they were _crash_."

"You know, the scarab basically monitors my diet. You're lucky Barry doesn't care about that sort of thing."

"In the future, there wasn't much to eat. Food was...hard to come by."

_Okay. Awkward_. _The conversation totally just went from fun to what the heck._

"But it's okay, because now there's lots! And I want to eat all of it," Bart quickly added, sensing the arising tension.

Jaime forced another smile.

"TABLE TWENTY TWO! PLEASE COME GET YOUR ORDER!"

* * *

They returned to the Garrick's house later that evening, after a day-long tour. Bart had shown him his school, the Flash museum, the ice cream shop, the bank (only because Captain Cold seemed to rob it a lot, and he liked telling heroic stories)...Jaime had a good time and honestly felt much better about their relationship than he did last night.

"Maybe I should run to that 7/11 down the street. I need something to wear to sleep. I feel so gross. And I haven't brushed my teeth in like, twenty four hours." They climbed the stairs up to Bart's room and entered.

"I have all that stuff, hermano! I have that shirt you let me wear the other night." He threw open his closet and pulled out the red t-shirt. Jaime blushed hard.

_I wonder if he washed it or if it still smells like him..._

Jaime took it, discreetly holding it up to his nose. _Yes_, it smelled like Bart. _Perfectly_ like Bart. He quickly put it down, not wanting to seem suspicious. The speedster was just smiling at him with a slightly baffled expression.

"And I'm pretty sure Jay has like, extra tooth brushes and stuff. Be right back..." He sped out of the room, and was back in what seemed like a second. "Okay, it's in the bath...room." He stared as Jaime looked straight into his eyes, shimmying out of his bottoms and kicking them aside, slowly pulling off his shirt.

He cleared his throat, facing the other direction, slowly closing the closet for something to do.

_ Mierda, why won't he look at me?_

**Perhaps the Impulse has too much on his mind. Or does not wish to see.**

He frowned, feeling slightly angry, and annoyed. What about his body wasn't _good enough_ for him?

Slipping on the t-shirt, he watched as Bart turned back around, shorts and a tank top in his hands. Jaime stared, hungrily waiting for Bart to change. "I, uh, I'm gonna go shower."

"Oh, alright..." Jaime put his hands on his hips, watching as he left the room, closing the door behind him. He sighed, flopping down on the bed and running a hand through his hair. "Why couldn't he have invited me in with him?"

** It is a common custom for human 'friends' to shower together?**

"Well, _no_, but with boyfriends, yeah. _I think_. Dios mio, why does he have to be so...so..."

**I believe the word you are trying to convey is 'hesitant'. **

"Totally..."

**But you, Jaime Reyes, feel these same emotions.**

"Yeah, _sometimes_. I mean, I've never had a boyfriend!"

** Error: sensing hypocric-**

"You know, you have just become _way _too sarcastic for my liking!"

The scarab was silent and he spent the rest of the alone time thinking through what Bart had told him earlier about the future. If that was really the case, that wasn't so bad, right? Sure, he put an inhibitor collar on him a bunch of times, but so what? That was his job, right? It's not like he did anything _terrible_, right?

_ Right?_

When he heard the door open, he shot up, mouth falling open as he stared at a wet Bart, water still dripping off the tips of his burgundy hair, shirt clinging tight to his body, shorts a little askew on his angular hips. He lazily dropped the towel to the floor and yawned, jumping on to the bed and laying with his hands behind his head. Jaime still couldn't look away, noticing how he was spreading his legs, heels digging into the bed, and how he could see up his lightly freckled thighs, almost, _almost_ far enough, but...

**Registering metabolic arousa-**

_Callate!_

"Let me just...go to the bathroom for a second. To brush my teeth."

"'Kay."

He rushed to the bathroom, closing the door and brushing his teeth almost furiously, as if it would help getting rid of his erection. It wouldn't, obviously. And when he was done he just stood there and stared, wondering if he should get rid of it, or just hope it went away on its own.

He went with the latter. He had no idea why. He returned to the bedroom, still frustrated as ever.

"Well? You comin'?"

"Ye-yeah!" Jaime crawled on to the bed next to him, staring up at the ceiling. He tried to be normal, tried to ignore the _newly formed bulge in his boxers_. "I have to go back tomorrow...my mom was mad at me for skipping school, today."

"Yeah, Jay gave me a talk," Bart laughed. "Whatever, though, right?"

"Augh, I'm gonna have so much work to catch up on..." he held his head, sort of regretting staying out that day.

Eager to please, Bart put his hand on Jaime's thigh. "I could help you, maybe. I know you're like, in high school already, and I wasn't the best at history, but I could always try with other things."

Jaime smiled, kissing his cheek and taking his hand. "I'd like that, actually. How are you liking school? You've only been in it for like, a _week_ and you're already skipping."

"Yeah, well, it's pretty_ boring_. I'm not sure I like it, sitting in those desks for a whole _hour_ just listening to the teacher _talk_."

"You're not failing anything yet, are you?" Jaime bit his lip, smiling as he reached around Bart, tickling his side playfully.

He squirmed, and made a face. "Well, actually, when I enrolled, they were like, 'you have to take a foreign language'. I told them I didn't know any, so then they put me in Spanish one. I dunno why. And I'm not the best at it, and even after I read the Spanish dictionary, I still don't understand the _sentence structures. _Or remember much of it."

"Why didn't you _tell _me, ese! I could totally be helping you."

Bart blushed, scratching his cheek with his free hand. "I guess I forgot."

"That's it, we're setting up study sessions. I'll be your new tutor." He pressed a little on his side, coaxing him on to his lap, watching him hesitantly straddle his hips, and kissed his cheek gently, hoping Bart wouldn't notice the bulge, or if he did...

He'd ask what it is, innocently, but a grin on his face. And Jaime would say, 'Well, why don't you have a look?'.

_ Stop, Jaime. You're making this so much worse than it already is. Think about this later. Not now. Anytime but now._

"Okay," he laughed nervously, hands shaking slightly as he wrapped his arms around his neck.

He nuzzled his nose against his, and whispered sweet things to him, telling him how much he loved him, how happy he was today, how much he adored seeing his house for the first time. About how sexy he was, how thankful he was for the watch, how he couldn't wait to do this again. They rolled around in bed a little, _never going too far_, and as the sun set, Jaime got sleepier and sleepier, until eventually, his praises faded away into silence.

Bart stared at Jaime as he slept, for the first time, outlasting him. He was finally sleeping peacefully and that was what he wanted. He was sick of troubling him, sick of making him feel scared and probably really crappy, especially about himself. The worry in his eyes was always eminent, and a part of Bart knew that it was fueling his insane obsession with the future and the Reach, something that would surely cause trouble down the road.

He frowned, brow furrowing as he wrapped an arm around Jaime's strong shoulders, curling up close to him and closing his eyes. He listened to his breath, his quiet inhale, then loud exhale. Green eyes slowly opened once more, looking up at the gorgeous, tan face in front of him, lit up only by the moonlight coming through the window. It was so perfect, so pure, so unable of becoming what it was _destined_ to become.

_Lying_ wasn't easy. But he was good at it. And if a few _lies_ are all it takes to let the boy he loves make peace with himself, _if only for just a night_, it was worth it. He shouldn't feel guilty, right? He was doing this for _Jaime's good_. If Jaime knew what _really_ happened in the future, well...Bart wasn't sure what he'd do, but it probably couldn't be anything good, for either of them, or mankind. It could be the very thing that _triggers _him, somehow...

_Anything _could trigger him and that was scary, so he _couldn't _take his chances. And if he had to lie, he would. For him. For _them_.

He finally gave in to his instincts, relaxing his body and letting Jaime readjust to position his chin on top of his head, gently kissing his Adam's apple before drifting off to sleep himself.


End file.
